


in the ruins

by storiesfortravellers



Category: Léon | The Professional (1994), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Breaking Up & Making Up, F/M, Jane Has a Surprising Past, Literal Sleeping Together, M/M, Multi, Past Child Abuse, Science, Science Bros, Threesome - F/M/M, Violence, science sis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-07
Updated: 2014-09-07
Packaged: 2018-02-16 11:02:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2267301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/storiesfortravellers/pseuds/storiesfortravellers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bruce senses that Jane's past is more complicated than people think.</p><p> </p><p>For this prompt at comment-fic on lj:<br/><i>Leon the Professional/Avengers movieverse, Mathilda!Jane, Dr. Jane Foster’s childhood is not what people think it was – and she can kick a lot more ass than expected</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	in the ruins

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings for mentions of Child Abuse and violence and canon character death.

It starts when Jane agrees to work with them on their hyperspace research, trying to make cross-galactic travel possible and studying the likely effects on the human body. JARVIS reminds them all to eat regular meals, Bruce remembers on his own to meditate twice a day, and the three of them generally stay up all night until they collapse into the bed in the room right off of the lab, which was built just for Tony, though it fits a snug three.

It’s months before sleep and science turn into something else. It happens at dawn, as sleep is still half encircling their minds, as Jane, half-awake, mumbles that she knows Bruce and Tony are together and wouldn’t they like her out of their bed. Tony and Bruce look at each other, and they both realize two important facts at the very same time: the two of them are not ‘just friends having some fun’ despite what each man has been claiming; and, they both want Jane to stay exactly where she is.

\--

It’s an easy fit. They all love to work, they’re all turned on by brilliance. They all like to try new things. Nobody gets angry when a 23rd hour in the lab takes precedence over a planned dinner date. 

Sometimes, Jane convinces them to take a break for movie night. The Princess Bride, animated films by Miyazaki, old Carl Sagan documentaries. They watch on a small TV screen in Jane’s quarters at the Tower, and Tony grumbles the whole time about how they could be watching it on a two-story tall bigscreen. 

“Hey, I spent a lot of my childhood staring at little screens,” Jane joked once. “It’s comforting, okay?”

Tony smiled and kissed her on the cheek. “I’m just kidding. It’s probably good for me and Bruce to have someone who was brought up normal.”

Jane rolled her eyes but gave Tony a smile. Bruce noticed that her jaw was tight.

\--

Tony is away on Stark Industries business, and Jane and Bruce keep working in the lab of course; they’re all collaborating on several projects now, and Bruce is helping with Jane’s astrophysics research too. 

After some frustrating setbacks, they decide to get out of the Tower, to go out for dinner. There’s a diner that Steve always mentions, so they go and drink hot chocolate and wait for their meatloaf and chicken Parmesan.

A family sits in the booth next to them, a father, a mother, and three kids. The kids are a little rowdy until the father threatens to bust their heads, and silence falls so fast and hard that Bruce and Jane know that he isn’t being metaphorical.

Bruce starts breathing hard. He looks down at his hands and can see them start to discolor.

Jane reaches out, and Bruce is afraid to look her in the eyes, afraid he’ll see fear and revulsion, afraid her reaction will push him over the edge. 

Instead, she whispers, “Bruce,” and he looks up and sees anger in her eyes, a calm, determined rage perfectly in her control. “I’ll take care of it,” she grits out, and he doesn’t know what she could mean, but he believes her somehow, he feels deep in his bones that she wouldn’t make a promise she couldn’t keep.

He closes his eyes, breathes deep, and manages to settle back into himself.

When he’s ready, he whispers to her, “There’s not enough to report to the police. They won’t do anything.”

“We’ll just be patient,” Jane says, and they both give big false smiles to the server as their food arrives. 

They hear the family talking next to them still, and it’s clear that the wife is as terrified of the husband as the kids are. Bruce does his best to tune them out.

When the father gets up to use the bathroom, so does Jane. She grabs the steak knife served with Bruce’s chicken and puts it in her purse. 

A minute later, there are screams from the men’s bathroom. People rush in, find a man with bleeding legs, and call emergency.

Jane comes out of the women’s bathroom and pretends to be surprised to find a commotion. She pretends to be horrified by the sight of blood and they leave cash on the table and exit.

“Both bathrooms had windows to the alley?” Bruce surmises.

Jane nods. “With the tendons I cut, even after he has surgery, the kids will be able to outrun him,” she says, calm, cold even. As if it is a simple calculation. 

They say nothing for two blocks until Bruce stops, turns to her, and says, “Thank you.” 

Her eyes look strange, wild, but then she smiles. “Don’t tell Tony,” she adds.

“Tony would think it’s spectacular,” Bruce points out, but then Jane shakes her head and Bruce understands what she means: _Let Tony think I’m normal. Don’t let him know I grew up like you._

“I won’t tell him,” Bruce says softly.

“It’s not that I’m ashamed.” _Please don’t think I’m ashamed to be like you._

“It’s okay. It’s nobody’s business,” Bruce says. He holds her shoulders lightly, leans in to kiss her temple. 

She leans her face against his for a moment, lingers there, then stands back and nods. “Let’s just go home,” she says, and he agrees.

\--

They are presenting their findings at a conference when HYDRA agents try to mow them down. 

Tony pushes Jane to safety and takes a bullet.

He is sent home from the hospital four days later and finds that Jane has moved out of the Tower.

“I guess near death experience makes you realize what you really want,” Tony says bitterly.

“She’s grateful,” Bruce says.

“Why did she leave? She figured out that she doesn’t want us?” Tony asks. He is sitting on the bed by their lab, holding his bandaged side, looking so confused that Bruce wants to hold him like he’s a child.

“I don’t know. She waited until she heard you were definitely going to be okay, then she made some excuses about equipment she needed at her home institution’s lab.”

“I would buy her any equipment she needed,” Tony objects. “She knows that.”

Bruce knows it’s not the time to go into why not everyone enjoys billionaire largesse. So he says, “We’ll talk to her. I think maybe she was just scared.”

“She’s faced bigger dangers than bullets,” he points out.

“…I know.”

“You talk to her. She lets you see things she doesn’t want me to know,” Tony says, lacing his fingers with Bruce’s. “She’ll listen to you.”

“It’s not like that.”

“It doesn’t bother me. I mean, I wouldn’t want to tell me things either,” Tony says glibly.

“Tony--”

“I’m not jealous. I just want her back. Please.” 

Tony looks up at him, eyes large, wet. Bruce’s wonders for a second how anyone in the world says no to Tony’s eyes.

“I’ll visit her. I’ll see what I can find out.”

Tony pulls him down for a kiss.

“Bring her back,” Tony says. “Please.”

Bruce just nods.

\--

Jane isn’t surprised to see Bruce. She expected Tony to come too, actually.

“He thinks I know you better,” Bruce says.

“Why does he think that?” she asks.

“Not because of anything I said. He is a genius, after all.”

“Geniuses are pains in the ass,” she mutters.

“Tell me about it,” Bruce says, giving her a pointed look, and she can’t help but laugh.

“I’ll meet you for drinks tonight. For now, let me get some work done,” she finally assents.

“Sounds good.”

At night, they meet at a dive bar, and Bruce orders them an excessive number of bourbon shots. 

“Trying to get me drunk?” she laughs.

“Would I do that?” he says with a smirk.

He is, in fact, trying to get her drunk.

Four shots in, and she’s bawling. 

“I’m sick of being with men who want to die for me,” she says, shoving the glasses off the table. They break, a high-pitched shatter, as they hit the floor.

“Tony’s alive.”

“Tony throws himself in the middle of danger every day. I’m constantly terrified. With you, at least I feel safe.”

Bruce tries not to wince at the irony; nobody should feel safe around him.

She puts her face in her hands. “All my life….”

Bruce reaches out and places a hand gently on hers. “Who died for you?”

She looks up at him, tears streaming down, and shakes her head. She won’t tell him.

He can see that on this, she won’t be pushed.

He convinces her to leave with him, to go to a nearby coffeeshop to eat and drink tea and sober up. 

Finally, he says, “Tony thinks you don’t want to be with him. That you finally realized he’s too much trouble.”

“That’s not what this is,” she says.

“He’ll think it is. Unless you go and tell him in person.”

She sighs. “You know that if I see the puppy dog eyes in person, I won’t be able to leave.”

“I’ve fallen prey to the eyes a few times myself. Especially when I thought I would be protecting him by leaving,” Bruce points out.

“Well, Tony obviously is just attracted to people who could destroy him,” she says bitterly. Then she looks up, horrified at what she said. “No, I didn’t mean – Bruce, I know you would never hurt him!”

“I might. I might not be able to stop it. And saying it out loud doesn’t make it any worse,” Bruce assures her. 

“Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Bruce wants to ask more, wants to know why she could possibly think that she’s comparable to the Other Guy, why she seems to think she bears destruction wherever she goes.

He knows that these questions won’t bring her home.

“Please try with us again. You’re the only one who can talk Tony out of his worst ideas,” Bruce says.

“Guilt? Really?” she asks.

“If guilt can drive you away, maybe it can bring you back.”

She sighs. “I’m sorry I ran like I did.”

“We all have our moments.” 

She looks at him. “You’re right. It’s not like I ditched you guys for two months to go to India.”

“That was a well-needed retreat,” Bruce says, pretending to be deeply hurt.

She laughs. “I know. I guess we all have our…”

“Other sides.”

“Yeah.” She’s suddenly very quiet.

“Will you think about coming home then?”

She pauses for a long time, then nods. “I shouldn’t have left.”

“Thank you.”

“Tony will ask why I left.”

“But if you choose not to answer, he won’t hold it against you. He might ask fifty times, but he won’t ever get mad,” Bruce says.

She smiles. “That’s true. He’s one of a kind. So are you, by the way.”

Bruce smirks. “Well, since we’re so incredibly amazing, you should really come back to us as soon as possible.”

She laughs. “I think Tony’s ego must be rubbing off on you.”

“Then you’d better come back and keep us in line.”

She pokes him lightly. “You know I’m coming back.”

He leans over to kiss her. “Let’s get you home.”

\--

Jane walks in the door. She’s prepared a few things to say to Tony, but all he asks when she gets there is, “Are you staying?”

“Yes, if you still want me to,” she answers.

Tony practically leaps toward her and hugs her, squeezing her tight, and she hugs back. She realizes how grateful she is to have him.

“No more getting shot, though,” she mock-scolds him. “Promise?”

“Mostly,” he says with a grin, then leads her by the hand to show her the latest design for updates to the hyperdrive generator.

Jane looks back at Bruce as she goes, who smiles at her and mouths, “Told you so.”

She half-grimaces, an acknowledgment that he was right about Tony, that he was right about coming back. 

Bruce walks over to join them looking at the hyperdrive, puts an arm around each of their shoulders, the warmth of their bodies close. The update design plans are substantial, but it will be years before they can be realized. They all talk excitedly about the possibilities.

For a moment, Bruce wonders if it’s the idea of the future that drives them to understand the universe, if living in the future is their way of refusing to live in the past. He decides then that it doesn’t really matter. They have hyperdrives and hadrobridges and nanocyborgs to worry about, not to mention love and sex and life. Their pasts would just have to wait.


End file.
